time. ms. bass: thank you, representative horsford. i have to say, coming from the state house, it was discouraging to come here and find not a lot of common sense. thank you for your leadership, thank you very much, representative jeffries and especially representative scott, for your leadership and hers and hours of work that you put into the congressional black caucus budget. today the republican party released a sprawling report detailing their failures to connect with the anxieties of middle class americans, citing this as a major reason why they lost last year's presidential election. as a result, they're now promising a kinder, gentler republican party. but sadly, the rhetoric just doesn't match the reality of a paul ryan budget which is nothing more than a rehash of the failed agenda that the american people have already rejected. the republican budget continues to push harsh and unnecessary budget cuts that eliminate the safety net for millions of

middle class americans. the american people don't want a budget that break ours promises to seniors by turning medicare into a voucher program or cuts investments that support job creation just for the sake of more budget busting tax cuts for the wealthiest taxpayers and corporations. yet my friends on the other side my friends continue pushing this approach in the name of deficit reduction, but their own leadership admitted we don't have a debt crisis in the country. the architect, congressman paul ryan, said we don't have a debt crisis. speaker boehner said it's not an immediate problem. why should we enact this budget while democrats have a balanced approach to protect the middle class. why should we pass a budget that gets 66% of its cuts from programs for people of low or

moderate income. why should we pass a budget that cuts pell grants that helps students or cuts the snap program that helps to feed 48 million people to give a $200,000 tax cut to millionaires? the budget put forward by the congressional black caucus continues the snap program to prevent americans from going hungry. while at the same time, reducing the deficit by $2.8 trillion over 10 years. the american people know we can't cut our way to prosperity, nor can we succeed by pursuing the same failed policies that undermine our economic recovery. the congressional black caucus budget offers a clear alternative that addresses the concerns of middle-class americans. our budget is focused on core priorities for the middle class, creating jobs, growing the economy, strengthening the middle class and reducing the

deficit. our proposal puts people to work this year with specific and targeted investments, while investing also in education, energy, research and infrastructure and keeping our commitment to america's seniors. our plan is fair, balanced, reasonable and responsible. it is pro-growth, pro-people, pro-america and approach favored by the majority in this country. i yield back the balance of my time. mr. horsford: thank you, congresswoman bass. and to focus on jobs and investing in our future, the fact that is pro-growth, pro-people and 70% of the american people support this type of approach is why the c.b.c. is offering this as an alternative to the house republican majority. and to speak further on the pro-growth needs of this budget, my representative -- my colleague, i should say in the new freshman class. it's been a delight to get to

know her, the gentlelady from ohio, representative beatty. mrs. beatty: thank you so much. thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to discuss house budget committee chairman ryan's fiscal year 2014 budget and democratic alternatives that work. i first want to thank my colleague, mr. horsford and mr. jeffries, both members of my class, for leading the congressional black caucuses' discussion on this drit call matter. and i thank congressman bobby scott on the congressional black caucus budget. released last week, congressman ryan's proposal entitled "a path to prosperity" includes more of the same proposals that the american public rejected at the ballot last november. same proposal, different cover.

i cannot possibly imagine how this regressive tax structure that it contains is a way to lead to shared american prosperity. i also cannot imagine how this budget will balance in 10 years and not hurt medicare beneficiaries over the age of 65. as it has been in the past, republican ryan's budget offers trickle-down agenda, the same agenda tried during george bush's presidency, which resulted in the widthering of the middle class and the total collapse of the economy. this budget shares in the same failed policies of the past and in a nut shell, it is unrealistic, unreasonable and unfair. first, mr. speaker, while the ryan budget is clear on its harmful proposed cuts to children, education and health care services for seniors, the

budget blueprint is particularly light on details and heavy on tax breaks to wealthy americans who do not need the help. second, but of no less importance, the ryan proposal fails to repeal and replace the sequester, therefore doing nothing to prevent the loss of over 700,000 jobs the sequester will cost. by not stopping the sequester and through other budgetary tricks, the ryan budget will cost even deeper cuts to all of our nation's essential services, arranging from the deep cuts for services to women, to head start, and health care research, to homeland security. this lack of foresight will also result in some $800 billion of federal funds being removed from pell grants and school lunches and begin the process of changing medicare to a voucher

system. there is a better way. members of the congressional black caucus have worked diligently to put forth an alternative blueprint, one designed to be pro-growth and put jobs and the economy first, rather than adhere blindly to ideological spending cuts. the congressional black caucus would replace sequester cuts with intelligent, balanced, deficit reduction measures. additionally, cutting educational spending in the name of future generations smacks of insincerity when we recognize that americans' position as a global leader in technology and innovation depends on our ability to invest in the necessary infrastructure and training for such break throughs. that's why our budget would support billions of dollars of infrastructure and job training investments for the future of

our nation and its citizens. americans are tired of watching their government lurch from one crisis to the next. the congressional black caucus offers a sincere credible path towards a long-term solution which creates jobs, expands the middle class, honors our commitment to seniors by preserving medicare and protecting medicaid and addresses our budgetary deficits and debt responsibly. these goals are achievable. but be clear, the ryan budget will not get us there. it is not the path to the nation's collective prosperity. it does not move us forward. democrats and members of the congressional black caucus propose that we move america forward. i thank you for the opportunity to address these important issues. and i yield back. mr. horsford: thank you, congresswoman beatty. we appreciate your leadership

and hard work. can i confirm on our remaining time please? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 11 minutes remaining. mr. horsford: for the remaining time, i would like to turn to two of our members on the budget committee, people who have heard firsthand about the devastating cuts from the house republican proposal and who has worked so hard to lay out the alternative proposal for the congressional black caucus, first representative bobby scott from virginia. thank you for your hard work and that of your staff. and after him, representative jeffries from new york. mr. scott: thank you. and i thank the gentleman for yielding. i was in the budget committee, but not this year. mr. horsford: i think you should be back. mr. scott: thank you. i thank you for your leadership. and thank the gentleman from nevada for his leadership and the chair of the black caucus, ms. fudge.

the simpson-bowles commission set a 10-year deficit reduction goal as the amount of deficit reduction we needed to get our budget under control. the c.b.c. does not endorse the specific recommendations of that goal, but our budget does accept the overall spending limitations the deficit reduction goals. based on most analysis, we have already passed and the president has signed into law approximately $2.4 trillion in deficit reduction through 2022, not including the sequester and to reach the goal, we need an additional $1.6 trillion in deficit reduction. so working off the c.b.o.'s baseline, we first instruct the ways and means committee to enhance receive news by $2.7 trillion over the next 10 years. that is not an extraordinary figure.

just a few weeks ago, we passed a $3.9 trillion extension in tax cuts. so going back over that and coming up with $2.7 trillion is within the realm of possibility. we just don't make the number up. we show $4.2 trillion in possible options in coming up with the $2.7 trillion. that would include limiting the deductibility of corporate interest payments and numerous tax breaks that corporations enjoy. money can be raised by capital gains taxed for ordinary income without a special benefit. surcharge of 5.4% on that portion of your income over $1 million. speculators' tax, reducing the extension of tax cuts down to the first $250,000, rather than $450,000 of income and several

other specific recommendations that to choose from to show that the $2.7 trillion is a reasonable figure. now, i know those are unpopular, but not nearly as unpopular as the sequester and cuts in health care, particularly medicare and medicaid. now the revenue enhancements called for will be used to first cancel the sequester. everybody is talking about how bad it is. our budget cancels the sequester all together. and then we pay for $500 billion jobs plan that will put five million americans back to work and we provide an additional $280 billion in long-term investments in our economy through education, job training, health care and advanced science and research. even with these investments, our budget is projected to reduce the deficit by approximately $2.8 trillion over the decade compared to the c.b.o.'s baseline which incidentally does not include the savings that we

will achieve through the winding down of the wars in iraq and afghanistan. that will put us on a sustainable goal and more than meets the the goal. so we feel that is a responsible goal. now this number is pessimistic, because with the jobs bill, we think we are going to do a lot better because of the similar effect it has on the economy. this is in stark contrast to the committee report, which has vague numbers, numbers that don't add up or don't give you a clue as to where they're going to get the money. the budget has a reduction in tax rates. does not say how you are going to make that revenue neutral, where you are going to assign the $5 trillion in taxes to make it revenue neutral. they block grant medicaid. by the time the end of 10 years, it's one-third of where it needs

to be to maintain benefits. 2/3 of medicaid, elderly and disabled. so you are cutting them -- what exactly -- what are your plans for them? if you look at the budget, they claim $4.5 trillion in deficit reduction. $1 trillion is appealing obamacare but keeping the taxes and pay-fors that paid for obamacare. billion and a half by cutting medicaid and medicare. that's 2 1/2. almost $1 trillion in unspecified mandatory spending. most of that is social security. they don't specify where that's coming from. three-fourths of the rest is on interest that's not going to happen. on the other hand, the c.b.c. budget outlines where we are going to get the money, create jobs, invest in transportation, education, health care and

research. and in the end has more than the simpson-bowles' goal of deficit reduction. it is a plan specific and can be done if we adopt the budget we will achieve deficit reduction and create five million jobs. i thank the gentleman for his leadership and yield back the balance of my time. mr. horsford: thank you, congressman scott. and thank you for your hard work and that of your staff in bringing this forward. and to close us out, to lay out the two options and approaches that are before us, we have what i would like to coin as the compassion nature people's budget offered by the congressional black caucus and then the ausetert budget. the compassionate budget is focused on the people and the austerity budget continues to protect special interests and corporate interests.

and to talk more about that, the gentleman from new york, epresentative jeffries. mr. jeffries: thank you. i thank my good friend, the distinguished gentleman from the silver state for his leadership in co-anchoring the c.b.c. special order, for giving me the opportunity to lay out as best i can the contrasting visions as represented by the c.b.c. budget, and we're thankful for the leadership of representative bobby scott in that regard, and the g.o.p. budget. we're at a crossroads in america, a fork in the road, and we can go in one of two different directions. in one direction is a compassionate path, as set forth by the congressional black caucus. the other direction is a more regressive, mean-spirited path,

as set forth by the g.o.p. budget. the c.b.c. budget is designed to create progress for the greatest number of people possible. here in america. the g.o.p. budget endorses the view of prosperity for the few. the c.b.c. budget takes a balanced approach to dealing with the economic situation we find ourselves in here in america. the g.o.p. budget balances the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable in our society. the c.b.c. budget will create jobs for americans, the fwmplet o.p. budget will cost us hundreds of thousands of job. two very different visions for where we need to go here in

america. a balanced approach has four different elements, first invest in the american economy, second raise revenue by closing corporate loopholes that are unfair, unjest -- unjust, and in many instances, unconscionable. tax rates for corp. -- tax breaks for corporate jets, tax subsidies for big oil companies that are making record profits. tax incentives for american companies to ship our jobs overseas. the c.b.c. budget will close these wasteful corporate loopholes. third, we look for savings by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse. and we take this approach because of the sensitive nature of our fragile economic recovery. you can't just cut the budget

with a meat cleaver without hurting the american people. and lastly, the c.b.c. balanced approach stands up for important programs like social security, medicare, and medicaid that have nothing to do with the economic mess that we find ourselveses in right now. now we don't have a short-term deficit crisis in america. that's what the independent objective economists have concluded. the speaker of the house of representatives has acknowledged we don't have a short-term deficit crisis. the chairman of the budget committee just yesterday acknowledged that we don't have a short-term deficit crisis. we've gained six million jobs over the last four-plus years but we still have a long way to go. we've got a jobs crisis. now corporate profits are way up. the stock market is way up.

the productivity of the american worker is way up. but the reality is consumer demand remains stragnant. that's why we have to investment in american economy, invest in transportation and infrastructure, research and development, invest in technology and innovation, education and job training, as the c.b.c. budget compassionately does. the other budget balances itself on the backs of the poor, children, senior citizens, working families, and the middle class. now they'll say, we're trying to put forth misinformation to scare the american people. that's a cute observation but it nooze factual basis. the g.o.p. budget cuts medicaid by $810 billion. that's not a scare tactic, that's reality. the g.o.p. budget voucherizes

medicare so in the future, the health care costs wouldn't be covered by this voucher program in the manner that it is right now. that's not a scare tact ex. that's reality. the g.o.p. budget cuts spending on higher education by $168 billion. that's not a scare tactic. that's reality. and that's why we are putting forth a compassionate budget to put the american people back to work. i yield back to my good friend from nevada. mr. horsford: thank you. and the c.b.c. budget refocuses priorities where it should be, on the middle class. it will save up to two million public and private sector jobs just from the cancellation of the sequester alone. bottom line, mr. speaker, job creation is our number one priority with this budget. we put americans become to work, we protect the vital

social programs they rely on, and we call on everyone to contribute to growing our economy and strengthening our recovery. this is a balanced approach that the american people are calling for, we're urging our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to work with us to craft a commonsense budget proposal that creates jobs, that moves our country forward and that protects the middle class and the poor. i yield back. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: thank you to the gentleman from nevada. pursuant to clause 12a of rule 1rk the house will stand in recess subject to the call of the chair.

expires marchding 27. and more private first lady. elizabeth monroe refused to continue this tradition of making social calls. we will explore her relationship with her husband and her friendship with liza adams. we will see the important role she played in the 1824 campaign of john quincy adams and the relationship with her mother-in- law, abigail adams. we will include your questions, live tonight at 9:00 eastern on

c-span and c-span3 , also on c- span radio and c-span.org. kenny spokeda about efforts to reform his government at george washington university. this is 35 minutes. [applause] mark, bryan, ambassador collins, ladies and gentlemen, i was told i was coming to a university, but there are all the languages in the world -- i am going to speak for two hours in ayers. may i wish you all a happy st.

patrick's week. washingtonto be in and have the opportunity to give andcture in respect of paul what he stood for and how is.rtant he employees to speak of a great irishman, described on many occasions as a new yorker who for the underdogs and outsiders who never forgot where he came from. onill say a few words to you the issue and a cause of something that is so close to all our hearts and people all around the world, our democracy. i am personally honored at the george washington university

should bestow upon me they're making democracy worked toward, and i really do appreciate that. was it not george washington who said perseverance and spirits have done wonders in all ages. here in the united states and ireland, we have the privilege and in deed on too many occasions to many people take our democracy for granted. it is precisely because we do have democracy that makes it our duty to all those countries and all those peoples struggling to achieve and to assert their democratic right, make them all the more urgent and more sacred as they struggle to achieve and to assert their democratic rights in many different locations around the world.

integral and entral to all that paul believed in. he was the youngest of 11 of his family. just a short distance from where many of hislf, antecedents and many of his counterparts and his peers made their way and their lives in the united states. i can personally testify that paul gave so many people start. he went to a new place, a new country, a new land, and it was important to get this start. one of the starts was in the docks on the streets of new york.

manyd his office gave so that start, that platform. he was passionate about justice, about fairness come about compassion, and about human rights. he was passionate in his professional and personal pursuits in defense of each of them. because he wasn't because he did, he made a truly magnificent contribution to public affairs here in the united states under the legal system in america. that is why i am very pleased to marianna company of and eileen. would say you have epitomized the characteristics of your diet in speaking out and stand up for the underprivileged, for

those who are isolated, and the cause of freedom and liberty and justice, and you have proven to be a uniquely great friend of our country and a wonderful at took for our country's cause in the united states. a a pride in irishman, as --ud european, and as a which in gaelic is chief or democracy and drives everything i have to do, the mandate of democracy given that leadership level comes sell them in a lifetime of people, and when it comes, it has to be grasped in both hands in their interests and their country boss interest. i understand what so many years in politics that the democratic

system is a politician and most powerful weapon that they possess, which is the boat and their vote, and that is almost in many ways an almost sacred exchange of trust and hope and confidence, with vast transformative powers. today in ireland, the government i lead the price of two parties ifcomprised of two parties, we use those powers in a way in implementing a program and the structures of the political system itself. today, in europe, we have to take those powers and evangelize them as to the very why of the european union. that is why i know in the last two years around the table in europe, the leaders representing 500 million people, that truth

and trust are absolutely essential for progress to be achieved in democratic societies. democraticuse that energy, that zeal, to restore trust and confidence not only in national parliaments, but in the political and social ideas of fromnion that stretches the is -- from the atlantic. european union right now, many people are talking. they are looking and asking political leaders and politicians for help and for assistance. in any economic crisis, the deepest wounds and the deepest hurt is unemployment. facing another day, with no hope. particularly for young people,

confidence is easily corroded and hope is eroded. that is a recipe for disintegration. no european leader can be happy with the situation of 26 million people registered as unemployed. that is a completely unsatisfactory position and will only change by democracy and political leaders and governments only working in the interests of peoples in our countries in an understanding way, neither isolated nor independent anymore. we are interdependent and connected. we must not accept the damage inflicted on young minds with such potential of the situation of unemployment. we cannot and must not allow

them to be haunted by that for the duration of their lives. democrats, we cannot allow a generation to grow up believing democracy itself has failed them. why ireland's presidency in the european union, we move to implement the urgent agenda we have set ourselves on stability and growth and jobs. for those of you who understand the presidency of the european union rotates between each country, you hold that presidency for a six-month. period, sometimes they are not felt it and it -- dealt with and they are all over the next

island is exceptional in the --se of we hope to do the same by the end of june this year. we extend that not just for the people of the european union, but for the world. is, the of the matter european union and the united states enjoy the most integrated economic relationship. developed setst of economies in western europe that exists. a relationship across the black constitutes nearly one-third of world trade. that is why european investment in the u.s. is around eight times that of the eu investment in india and china put together. of sit -- enormous

significance. investment in the eu is two times higher than in asia. it speaks for itself. that relationship defines the shape of the global economy. is the largest trade investment partner for almost all other countries in the global economy, that speaks of the power and potential. anhave been very happy from irish perspective to see the high level report produced between the eu and the u.s. in terms of potential. i spoke to the president after his reelection. he addressed the matter in his state of the union address and last week, the european council gave a very positive endorsement to giving this presidency to

thesure -- trigger negotiations, which can hopefully take place. there is a 90-day process to go through from the u.s. administration point of view. the relationship has enormous potential. currently, 15 million jobs depend on the the trade. think of the potential for all the millions of people on either side of the atlantic in terms of the potential for job creation if this were to become a reality, which i expect it will. long-term evidence would show the flow of trade and investment helps spread new ideas, new innovation, new technology, the best research, leading to improvements. as we look at the global situation with a population globally rising at an enormous longerith people living

because of advances in medicine, the fact of the matter is we are more interdependent than ever before. that is why, as part of the we hope to achieve the mandate for those discussions to start. our agenda in ireland, it is a small country in comparison to the power and scale of the united states. it is equally urgent. we had lost 250,000 jobs in the years prior to the decision in the private sector. our name, credibility, integrity, had lost stock. a great deal of confusion existed about the direction ireland was headed in. the investment an opportunity was limited.

in february 2011, the people government a my resounding mandate to make difficult decisions, to sort out our problems and fix our finances, to restructure the way business is done in ireland and work with our colleagues to put our people back to work. because of their sacrifice and theef and understanding of necessity to make difficult decisions, and because there is a clear and strategic plan in place, we have made a very credible start in iraq -- in rectifying this in ireland. after years of chronic contraction, the economy is now beginning to show promise in signs of expansion and a return of some degree of confidence. it is now entering the third consecutive year of growth,

competitiveness, and exports have increased. .rices are back .xports are more successful international confidence in our country has been restored. the top leaders are economists and investors. a look at ireland in a different light than they did a short time ago. 2012, the latter half of our economy actually rose for the first time since 2008 over a also, thetime period extent of research and innovation and clarity and decisiveness, from a government perspective, has opened new doors and new opportunity. that has been a difficult road for the irish people, to have to make decisions like that, very

necessary. to actuallycourage see where the higher ground is up ahead. obviously tapping into domestic debt levels, we set out a very clear strategy to do this. trade unions at the moment are a newering -- considering pay deal in the interest of helping to get our debt levels reducedhave the deficit 3% by 2015 because we are in a program of assistance from the eu and the imf. we are ranked number 1 in the world for skilled labor. economic recovery in and of keeping with the democratic ideals about what

they can do for the people in terms of social impact of the contribution they can make to their country. social, andultural, economic. has,ut -- the recovery following a heart-one piece. we have experience of this. contribute able to to many contributions from world. speaking clinton was that since the united nations was founded, tyrant -- ireland is the one country that can validly point to the fact that we have personnel and peacekeepers in some locations around the world on peacekeeping and humanitarian missions since the u.n. was founded. of the well aware

troubles in ireland over a 30- year time and how painful that was and how it affected life on our island brutally, tragically, and involved an enormous scale of response from some many people. many people. the hatred and loss was written over our timely -- tiny island. democracy and the region and the pursuit of democratic ideals, they were part of peace. the united states and america played its part in that area -- in that. america, in its pursuit of democracy, united us in so many ways. thatall being in this city

in 1996 when the clinton administration called meetings from a business and political point of view. i remember senator george mitchell speaking about democracy. i remember him recalling his own family's involvement because of immigration from ireland in economic circumstances, that this country gave him the democratic opportunity to serve as senate leader for 20 years. he was followed at that meeting by ron brown, who tragically lost his life in a plane crash sometime later. george about democracy, mitchell pointed out he came here and his ancestors came to the country because of economic reasons. he spoke of democracy in these terms. he said, his ancestors came to

america not because of economic circumstances, but because they were in chains. at the same time, democracy gave him the chance to participate in american life and serve at the highest levels of the administration. it was also evident in the work of president clinton, who refused to give up and often , peace comes dropping slow. it is also evidence in the support given to ireland in some oftens by so many people, -- in so many ways by so many people, that peace is as much yours as it is ours because of the environment -- involvement of all of the united states. will want toca sustain that and renew it. we are very pleased president

obama and his administration have been so open, so available, and so encouraging. that caters to people with different traditions and cultures and aspirations. there is more that unites us than what divides us. it is the responsibility of those of us who have the privilege of holding political office to the -- to defend, under pennsylvania, and reinforce principles, values, and institutions, to show real leadership where real leadership is demanded. is characterized by openness, respect, and the wish to harness and nurture relationships with those within troubled communities to have the will and ability to walk to resolve issues peacefully using

politics to succeed where violence never can. in the drafting of the budget we wereeuropean union, able to get included in their for expenditure on peace projects and divided lines in fragile communities in areas of northern island where young pennsylvania -- young men in particular have been led the wrong way. it can build a virtuous cycle of respectful and honest conversations, which gives communities an opportunity to see the democratic politics that do work, to carry on when it seems sometimes doomed that the fear and the anger is too big and too intractable to overcome, it requires belief and

conviction and courage to see these things through to the end. they can be overcome. they have been overcome. difficulties will be overcome again in the future because we , alongirish government with the british government, we are too keenly aware of our responsibilities. it was very good conversation with the british prime minister, david cameron, just last week. in the same room where the british cabinet says, with the treaty of violent was the beginning of the last century. we want to see peace and prosperity flourish. we want to reject the attempts of any minority whose offering is only a return to the emptiness of terror, bloodshed, and murder.

we do not want any part of that. that peace meant change for people, communities, and family spirit it meant having the courage to come to the edge. we areand itself, undertaking major changes in the way we reform public services and the political system itself. in a letter discovered just a few years ago, george washington wrote, the happiness of this country depends much on the constitutional convention which is now sitting. it can only lay the foundation. the community must raise the oedipus. he was perfectly right. indeed, it is in the community, and the people, that true democratic power lies. it was a community devastated by

sandy. it was a community that had devastating inflicted -- devastation inflicted upon it because of a natural phenomenon. was a community gathering around itself to achieve objectives where people have suffered. the team spirit is evident in that particular area. rule andernments may they come and go, it is the people themselves who obviously govern. with that in mind, the irish government set up their constitution convention earlier this year. it will consider a range of matters, both social and institutional. a program for government recognizes the need for the constitution to reflect a new and emerging island -- ireland

and its people. a convention made up of 100 people, politicians, 66 members of the public, chosen through the proper democratic system and selected randomly from the make it, to representative of a broad society in terms of gender, age, regional balance, and so on. setting in aon is program of its work. at a time where the gap is growing between people and politics, this is a new opportunity for citizens to become involved in an important innovation in our shared public life. through our constitution convention, in the same way as washington wrote so many years ago, irish citizens and politicians from north and south are coming together to discuss constitutional reform in a new way in our country and the

constitution and the convention has made a number of recommendations to date. undertake aplan to major reform of the political system itself in terms of parliament and our local government, where we see time for real change. in their homesle and businesses and communities across the country to make big changes, big sacrifices, it has to be obvious and important the political caucus itself take a dose of their own medicine as the case might be. the last november, irish people made democratic history. my three political ambitions, the first is that by 2016, we make the country the best in the world in which to do business. secondly, best to raise a

family. thirdly, best country in which to grow old with a sense of date -- dignityrespect and respect. abuse, the fact that children in ireland in many cases did not have the facilities that should be made available to them, at the stroke of a pen, last november, the irish people voted through their democratic right to put into our constitution, recognizing part of ourbeing society. that follows on the appointment of the first senior minister for children in the history of our byte, showing the importance government. that is just part of the range

of activities we are involved in, respecting the rights and dignity of the children of ireland. i hope the reforms in terms of democracy, making it more transformative and more open. in his oath as the first president of the united states, george washington spoke of the importance of precedents. these may be fixed on true principles. that was absolutely true. truth and trust are two of those principles that are important in democracy. was martin luther king who the political

responsibility, the question was asked, is it safe? is itestion was asked, popular? expedience asks the question, is it political? question, isks the it right? i suppose for everybody, particularly in politics, there comes a time where you have to that are nots popular nor political, because -- but because they are right. we strive to live and what can thrive, causing the highest democratic principles. a man said, fighting for people's conscience, described

as a guerrilla fighter from a jewish homestead to the rebels he was anoved island, elegant butler in the name of conscience. ideal's should always come first. this is true. democracy is a fragile flower that come when nurtured, gives strength. i was struck by this yesterday. at the site where both trade towers stood. beware the site was, there --

there was a pear tree. that tree was brought to the park and nourished and treated and it is now flourishing again in the location where it was originally growing. a tree that will bloom and blossom before any of the others in that particular patch. a symbol of what democracy can when it is treated and nourished to allow it to flourish. to me, an important line was, politics is the only machinery reallyon which you can

straighten things out. that is what we are about here. ireland, the united states, and around the world. as they say, sort it out and straighten it out. [laughter] i am very happy to give this andt a man i have admired my abiding memory. when he came home, the local authority honored him with a civic reception. there he sat in the chairman's with his eyesair like beacons of democracy, and he lashed out at everybody.

these are the things that you should do. forgot his roots. it is my privilege to follow in his footsteps in that regard. thank you very much. [applause] >> coming up on the next washington journal, the congressman of new mexico discusses the republican outreach strategy a day after party policy changes were announced. then, the representative from morgan joins us to talk about the proposed budget debated in the house. discussion on the impact females are having on military policy. every morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> the winners have been selected in this year's student

camp document receipt -- documentary competition. the grand prize winner is from connecticut. his video was on unemployment in america. irst prize went to alan shimp from pennsylvania. watched the winning videos each day next month on c-span. c-span, created by america's cable companies in 1979, brought to you as a public service by your television provider. tonight, c-span's lady'ies." -- "first